Ambassador welcomes Pa., Brazilian cooperation on energy

By Tim Stuhldreher,
March 5, 2013 at 9:00 AM
- Last modified: March 5, 2013 at 9:30 AM

Brazilian Ambassador Mauro Vieira, left, speaks as state Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Krancer, right, looks on during an investor briefing Thursday at the Team Pennsylvania Foundation offices in Harrisburg. Photo/Tim Stuhldreher

Brazil is highly interested in how Pennsylvania's natural-gas industry has developed and is eager to explore ways of cooperating on energy development when Gov. Tom Corbett visits next month, the Brazilian ambassador to the U.S., Mauro Vieira, told business leaders attending the Team Pennsylvania Foundation's investor exchange brunch.

"I'm sure we can learn a lot from the experience of the state of Pennsylvania and I'm sure that partnership in this area will be very, very important for us," Vieira said.

Corbett's visit to Brazil will be the first by a Pennsylvania governor, Vieira said. The ambassador's local appearance Thursday was in support of the trade mission and was attended by about two dozen business leaders and state officials.

Brazil is planning major auctions of shale gas and oil reserves toward the end of the year, Vieira said. Projections indicate the country will be able to produce 4 million barrels of oil a day within 10 years, as well as sharply increased volumes of shale gas, he said.

Like Pennsylvania, Brazil will have to build vast new networks of midstream and downstream infrastructure to take full advantage of its energy resources, said Fernando Musa, CEO of Braskem America, the U.S. arm of Braskem, the massive Brazilian petrochemical company.

"The companies that have been working in Pennsylvania … have been facing challenges similar to what Brazil will have to face," Musa said.

Such companies will have attractive opportunities to apply their expertise and invest in Brazil, he said. Conversely, Pennsylvania's abundant cheap energy, well-developed infrastructure and proximity to northeastern U.S. markets should make it attractive to Brazilian chemical companies that want to expand into North America, he said.